The Heart Good Information to Know

Did You Know?

The heart’s primary function is to drive nutrient-carrying blood and oxygen to your organs, allowing them to work properly. It controls the rhythm and speed of your heart rate and maintains healthy blood pressure.

• Your heart helps rid your body of waste–primarily carbon dioxide—restoring balance.
• Your heart beats 100,000 times a day and pumps about 4.7 litres of blood each minute, or more than 6,700 litres a day, which is about 188 million litres in a lifetime.
• Your blood takes only 20 seconds to circulate through your entire body through a series of arteries, veins, and capillaries.
• The largest vessels are as wide as a garden hose and the smallest capillaries are so thin that blood cells have to travel through them in single file.